Bearskin Cat (b.20 November 2009)

The latest addition to the Quernus Regiment has arrived! Bearskin Cat was commissioned by my good friend Jo, to join his friends Desert Army Cat and Jungle Army Cat.

Bearskin Cat has a lovely black furry hat courtesy of a large black pom pom trimmed within an inch of its life. (Take it from me when I say that trimmed black pom pom fluff goes EVERYWHERE.)

Bearskin Cat's hat is secured in place by a smart silver chain, and his uniform is trimmed with gold braid, with a smart gold buckle. His wee cat ears are hidden underneath the bearskin hat. His uniform is completed by a pair of very shiny black boots.

Bearskin Cat was made from a core of black clay, around which I wrapped a thinly rolled sheet of red clay. To make the bearskin hat sit snugly on his head, I had to remove the head (sorry), and leave a flat surface to glue down the  black pom pom. For the chain, I took a short length of a small silver chain and attached each end to the flat surface, hooking it under the chin. The black collar (trimmed with a very thinly rolled log of gold clay) helps to 'join' the hat and body.

He stands nearly 5cm tall to the top of his hat, so he's a little short to take part in next year's Trooping the Colour.

Army Cats (b.15 November 2009)

At the Made-It Craft Fair in Harrogate on Saturday, I met Diane and her sister, and they asked me to make up some military felines - an Army Cadet Cat (with black beret on the right), and a Royal Marines Cat (with green beret). And here they are

Having done a bit of internet research, it felt important for them to have badges on their berets, so after a bit of painstaking cutting and shaping, both Cats are now proudly sporting smart gold and silver badges!

Each Army Cat stands about 5cm tall. I tried a new technique to make the camouflage colour, which I think has worked out very well. I made up small amounts of four colours, and then tore them up into small random pieces. I then scooped up all the pieces into a ball, making sure no two colours were next to each other, and rolled it around a few times. The resultant slices were more random and less stripey than the early Jungle Army Cat, and I've also included more greens and browns, rather than relying too much on beige and fawn colours.

So these two will be shipped off to Hessay in York tomorrow, and I'm sure they'll whip Diane and her sister into shape in no time at all! In the meantime, I was so pleased with the camouflage effect that I made up another Jungle Army Cat for my friend Jo - and here he is!

Jungle Army Cat (b.9 November 2009)

You can just about spot this well camouflaged Jungle Army Cat, captured here as he was out on manoeuvres in my back garden.

Made as part of a commission for my good friend Jo, Jungle Army Cat sports a smart black beret and shiny black boots, with matching belt. He stands 5cm tall, and nearly 3cm wide.

His flak jacket is made from cane slices made up by roughly mashing together four different colours.


Jungle Army Cat is seen on the right with his buddy, Desert Army Cat.

Army Cat (b.1 November 2009)

Atten-shun!! Army Cat reporting for duty, suh!

Sporting the latest in desert wear, which no discerning Army Cat would be seen without, this rather chubby colonel is ready for anything - from his desert boots, to his utility belt, right up to his matching helmet.

I tried a new technique for making the patterned body based on my observations of how scrap clay behaved when I was using it for core. I conditioned several small balls of clay (champagne, tan, brown, etc.) and then randomly mashed them together into a ball, rolled it out a few times, mashed it again, and then rolled it into a large log. The slices taken from this log resulted in a random camouflage pattern, and were much easier to apply to the clay core than the normal millefiori slices. Once applied, I rolled the core in my hands to blend the slices, and this helped randomise the pattern even more.

The desert boots were made by placing two pieces of the usual paw shape on top of each other, and then rounding the edges. The helmet was a little trickier, as I had to hollow out a hemisphere to make it look more as though he was wearing it, rather than half a ball of clay perched on his head.

Watch this space for jungle Army cat, and work has also started on Bearskin Cat, who is aiming to take part in next year's Trooping the Colour!

Thanks to my good friend, Jo Howes, for sparking this rather militaristic turn of events with her commissions (appropriately named in this instance!)